The Gallery - My Secret Places

Tara has set the Gallery challenge once again to find the special places (or Tree's if you are Tara) that make you go ahh... Here are mine.

This is home. This was the view from my window where I grew up. This was taken in a small village called Bayston Hill, near Shrewsbury. The hills in the distance are the Stretton Hills.

This is a view from Albrighton Hall. This is a beautiful old house in the wilds of Shropshire, that you can go to for meals or to get married or whatever really. We (my family) usually go there once a year around the time of my Mum and Dad's wedding anniversary (they are on there 54th year - so every year is a celebration). For some reason, whenever we go the weather is always beautiful. You eat in the gorgeous Georgian (?) interior and then sit outside on the lawn or have a little walk around the lake.

This is the beach at Borth in Wales, near Aberystwyth. My Grannie had a holiday home here when we were really little and I remember playing on this beach. My cousin now has a caravan near there at Clarach Bay (also lovely) and we stay sometimes.

And last but not least - This is the West of Ireland. My in-laws live there. They have a house in the middle of no where - we go across as often as we can afford and it seems to be always a bit sunny, a bit rainy, a bit windy and a bit like this. But it is peaceful and relaxing and and my mother-in-law looks after us all (and there is great light for photo's - which is a bonus).

Conversations with my husband

My husband and I were having our usual chat in the car on the trip back from Shrewsbury to Birmingham, after visiting my parents for Sunday lunch.

It is one of those times when our eldest puts her iPod on and our little one goes to sleep. So it's a chance for us to have an 'adult' conversation.

Today's conversation was about my hair and then went from there. I have recently stopped bleaching my hair blonde, so I now have a grey and brown/black kinda crew cut type thing going on. So I have gone from this - 

To this - 

Please allow for the fact I have make up on in one picture and none in the other....!

Now the odd thing is, when I bleached my hair white blonde (anybody call it yellow and you will get a slap), people said things like - 'Oh that looks nice' - Nobody really commented on the 40 something lady with the girly blonde mohican, (Not to my face, anyway).

However, when I had all the blonde cut out, I am suddenly the cause of much conversation and consternation;

'Oh, what colour are you going to go now?'

'Are you going to grow it?'

'Do you like the grey?'

The thing is I kinda do. I like it short - when its long I just tie it back, short it is easy to manage, and can look smart and funky (in my humble opinion). I like the grey, particularly the really white bit at the front. It suits my skin tone. I am not saying I won't go back to blonde, but right now au naturel is liberating.

The conversation with my husband went like this:

'Isn't it odd how the expectation is that I should dye my hair, but no one suggests it to you' Me.

'No, but it's getting that way, with manly moisturiser with mannish names like Bullet' Him

Giggling..'Machine gun exfoliater leaves your skin, in an extremely high testosterone state' Me

'Ready for fighting and killing things in a manly way' Him

Gaffaw 'Try Bullet moisturiser, it makes you more of a man!' Me

'Bullet pillow freshener helps you sleep even in combat mode' Him....And so on...

So much for; A, 'adult' conversation  and B, a big philosophical and deep debate about men and women's role in society today having to conform to stereotypical  norms.

Ten things you didn't know about me..

The lovely Rebel Mother has awarded me the Honest Scrap award

Thanks - I think?

Here are The Rules:

1. ‘The Honest Scrap Blogger Award’ must be shared.

Here you go folks, I happily share this with:

Troutie
Muddling along Mummy
Is there a Plan B
Bad Housewife
Sticky Fingers



2. The recipient has to tell 10 (true) things about themselves that no one else knows.

OK Here goes. Deep breath.

1. If you were a Yuppie between 1989 and 1991 and went to the Brahms and Liszt in Covent Garden. It was me that stole your bottle of wine. Sorry.
2. I can play the trumpet, although I haven't done it for a while.
3. It was me that knocked down the lamp post in Copthorne in Shrewsbury (this was about 1986)
4. My first car was an maroon Allegro with a sun roof.
5. Sorry to the garage attendent at Monkmoor in Shrewsbury  from about 1996 -1999, I realise that my visits may have appeared strange and happened at odd times in the night and I may not have been completely sober, but some times you just need a fag.
6. I secretly loved the attention I got for some of the outfits I wore clubbing.
7. I hate that aging bothers me so much.
8. The one time I scived off school I got glandular fever and didn't go back for 6 months.
9. I chucked a fella, I had met one night, out of my flat because he smelt funny.
10. I have no regrets.

My Best Friends Wedding

My best friend recently married my brother.

The initial reaction that I normally get to this is; aaah.
Or how sweet, lovely etc

Then I explain how they met.

I grew up in a very small village in sunny Shropshire.

I went to sixth form in the slightly bigger, but still ridiculously quaint medieval town of Shrewsbury.

Shrewsbury; Home of the pie pie (reference Lee and Herring - Fist of Fun), and more well know biscuit.

There wasn't a lot to do in Shrewsbury as a teenager in the 1980's.

So the plan was:
go to sixth form
get some A levels and
get to college in that London

thus escaping:
the boredom
middle classes and
my Mum and Dad (no offence M & D..I was a teenager!)

So, not a lot of choice on the boyfriend front either. The really good looking ones weren't interested and the nerds and geeks, and there were many, I really did not want to get to know.

Unfortunately one of the nerdish geeks took an unhealthy interest in me. Would I call it stalking...not in the '80's.

Long and short, he won me over (I was v.bored) and ended up being my first love. There followed a torturous/passionate 18 months resulting in 2 E's at A level and my love affair all over. With all to show for it, a new bestfriend, my ex's sister, whose had a 20 year crush on my brother.

So I went out with her brother and now she is married to mine...

Now close your eyes....

Imagine the sound of duelling banjo's
squeal little piggy.

hmmm... I may have some unresolved issues

PS - I still blagged it into college in London!